Gear pump extruders are used in the tire industry to extrude rubber components. A large feed strip of rubber is typically fed into a feed box of an extruder. The feed strip of rubber entering the feed box is typically held in tension by a weighted roller. In some cases, a gear pump extruder may run intermittently. When the extruder stops, there is tension on the feed strip of material from the roller. If the tension is too great, the hot rubber/metal in the feedbox of the extruder can cause the feed strip to break. If the strip breaks, it can cause a production error or extruder stoppage or even an incorrect output from the extruder/gear pump until the feed strip is refed into the feed box. Thus it is desired to have an improved feed system without the aforementioned disadvantages.